Funny...I just answered this (kind of) in the off-shoot thread not knowing about this one. I believe there is a vast difference between giving kids the proper tools to create (quality supplies, instruction into using them, knowledge of design principles) and making art a rote set of steps for everyone to follow to make the exact same product.
A sure fire way to ruin a child's artistic potential is to teach them that people are made of sticks and birds are made of V's - at least none that I have ever met.
